Ajax on Java

Description

This practical guide shows you how to make your Java web applications more responsive and dynamic by incorporating new Ajaxian features, including suggestion lists, drag-and-drop, and more. Java developers can choose between many different ways of incorporating Ajax, from building JavaScript into your applications "by hand" to using the new Google Web Toolkit (GWT).

Ajax on Java starts with an introduction to Ajax, showing you how to write some basic applications that use client-side JavaScript to request information from a Java servlet and display it without doing a full page reload. It also presents several strategies for communicating between the client and the server, including sending raw data, and using XML or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) for sending more complex collections of data.

The book then branches out into different approaches for incorporating Ajax, which include:

• The Prototype and script.aculo.us Javascript libraries, the Dojo and Rico libraries, and DWR
• Integrating Ajax into Java ServerPages (JSP) applications
• Using Ajax with Struts
• Integrating Ajax into Java ServerFaces (JSF) applications
• Using Google's GWT, which offers a pure Java approach to developing web applications: your client-side components are written in Java, and compiled into HTML and JavaScript

Ajax gives web developers the ability to build applications that are more interactive, more dynamic, more exciting and enjoyable for your users. If you're a Java developer and haven't tried Ajax, but would like to get started, this book is essential. Your users will be grateful.

 

Preface

1. Setup

     Requirements

     Installing Tomcat

     Installing Ant

2. JavaScript for Ajax

     Creating the Application

     Running the Example

3. A Simple Ajax Servlet

     Building and Deploying the Ajax Application

     Running the Example

4. XML and JSON for Ajax

     The Character Decoder

     Setting Up a Simple XML Document

     Back on the Client: Mining the XML

     Building the Application

     Running the Application on Tomcat

     Passing Data with JSON

     Summary

5. Getting Useful Data

     Form Entry with Ajax

     Building a Suggestion Field

6. Ajax Libraries and Toolkits

     Using the Dojo Toolkit

     Using the Rico Toolkit

     Using DWR with Ajax

     Drag 'n' Drop with Scriptaculous and Prototype

7. Ajax Tags

     Creating a Tag Library

     Third-Party Tag Libraries

8. Ajax on Struts

     Struts-Layout

     Adding Ajax to Struts with DWR

     Ajax with Struts: What Have We Learned Here?

9. JavaServer Faces and Ajax

     The JSF Lifecycle

     Writing a Custom JSF Component

     Developing a Custom JSF Tag

     Handling JSF Input by Extending HtmlInputText

     Writing the JSF Support for Ajax

     Summary

10. Google Web Toolkit

     Getting Started with GWT

     Debugging the Application

     Fleshing Out the Application: The Client

     Supplying Services to the Client

     Testing ZipCodes with the Service

     GWT Widgets

Index